PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
PHOTO CAPTION (TOP) August 21, 1989
P-34632C
Voyager 2-N32C
This image of clouds in Neptune's atmosphere is the first that
tests the accuracy of the weather forecast that was made eight
days earlier to select targets for the Voyager narrow-angle
camera. Three of the four targeted features are visible in this
photograph; all three are close to their predicted locations.
The Great Dark Spot with its bright white companion is slightly
to the left of center. The small bright Scooter is below and to
the left, and the second dark spot with its bright core is below
the Scooter. Strong eastward winds -- up to 400 mph -- cause the
second dark spot to overtake and pass the larger one every five
days. The spacecraft was 6.1 million kilometers (3.8 million miles)
from the planet at the time of camer shuttering, and the image
uses the orange, green and clear filters of the camera. The
Voyager Mission is conducted by JPL for NASA's Office of Space
Science and Applications.
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